Small Van Big Project: 1960 Lloyd LT 600
Most of you have heard of Lloyd Motor Works (Lloyd Motren Werke) but you may not have known that they made a vehicle such as this 1960 Lloyd LT 600. This example is listed on eBay with an unmet opening bid of $7,500 and it’s located at my favorite museum on the globe: the Lane Motor Museum just southeast of Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks to Dominic O. for sending in this tip!
This is one interesting and interesting-looking car. It also has a bit of fame for being on the TV show American Pickers. Mike and the Bearded Charmer (Frank) found and purchased this car and then sold it to the Lane Museum. It must have been too much of a project even for their restoration staff. Although, with such an extensive collection I can’t imagine that there’s enough time or money to restore everything.
The LT 600 is a van and the construction of these vehicles may be why this one is for sale. It’s incredibly expensive to restore one of these things with it being basically a wood cage with a metal skin over it. Those of us who saw the American Pickers episode clip, seen here on YouTube, know what condition the wooden frame is in and even the seller says that “the wood is rotten” on this one. With steel being scarce after WWII the Lloyd used a wood and fabric body but by 1954 they had a steel body. Unfortunately, they continued to use a wood frame.
Whoa. This is a full restoration candidate here and Jeff Lane thinks that it could cost $100,000 to restore this van so be prepared! The interior is pretty rough as you expected. You can see the rear storage area in this photo.
The LT 600 replaced the less-powerful LT 500, if you consider a 20-hp, 596cc engine powerful. This is a four-stroke two-cylinder engine and it’s air cooled. This vehicle has front wheel drive, too – pretty innovative for the time. Do you have what it takes to restore a vehicle like this Lloyd Lt 600?
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Comments
I could restore this the question is why would I want to. Ok here goes if I was going to restore this the wood frame would be gone in favor of a HSS structural steel frame the engine and trans axle would be gone in favor of a Toyota 4 cyl engine and trans axle. Once you got past the heavey work I’d build an interior using the seats out of a mini van. I’d flare the back wheel well to match the front. Put some fat cragar style wheels with raised white lettered tires. I put a flamboyant paint job on it. Than drive it as the family hauler it would be. I don’t agree with the numbers presented, I think it could be done for a lot less by a good DIY guy.
@canadainmarkseh: I agree that this coud be restored or resto-modded for a whole lot less money, but what you describe in your comment above is NOT a restoration!
Buy the 67 Chrysler ragtop, spend the restomod money on your sweetie pie. Payback would be in spades.
Yes i suppose I’d describe a restomod. I guess I’m of the opinion that if your going to put money and effort into something like this it needs to be functional.
There’s a big difference between restoring and restomodding or Rat rodding. What you are describing is nothing compared to a restoration.
You obviously don’t know what restore means.
Yuk!
Just weird enough to be cool. I tend to agree with replacing the rotten wood with metal. Or you could make an ash frame & install a Morgan engine.
This would make one cool restomod but I don’t have the skill or time to do it.
Of all the cars at the Lane Museum, only one came from me, that is the 1954 Simca Weekend Prototype car (serial # 001) that originally belonged to Brigitte Bardot and was used extensively in period advertising by Simca along with Ms. Bardot. Perhaps I am biased but I would claim it as one of the more interesting cars Lane has in terms of history and also as one of the more attractive. I originally found the car in France, tracked down its then current owner, and eventually convinced him to sell.
I drove that car once! I was helping Jeff take a bunch of cars to a local show. It wasn’t until we GOT to the show, after I’d been driving it, that I realized its history and that it was a one-off!
That’s not all. Did you also realize that Brigitte Bardot also sat in that very same seat and on that very same leather back in the ’50s when she was in her prime and one of the most beautiful women in the world?
It would be hard to tell if people are laughing because you’re driving something that ugly, or that you actually spent the money to restore its ugliness.
They ( pickers) bought it for 1000.00 sold it for 2800.00 and now they want 7500.00. Not one thing has been done to it, nothing. The person that sold it to the American Pickers did good, Mike and Frank did a lot better. I don’t see anyone pulling a profit from here on. It is a cute, ugly, weird type van.
That is where you are probably quite wrong.
I believe it has been allowed to ROT more.
Maybe it also has wood-worm, just look for fine sawdust under it.
All in all, it is still a pile of crap.
When I saw this again (after Pickers), I thought bonfire, smores…….
I stand corrected Al. Thanks, GP
It’s a shame these cool looking foreign jobs are always so horribly under powered for the US. Great for putt-putting down the narrow alley’s of Europe, but lawnmowers today have more power, and without some repop, you’d be nuts to drive this any distance. It’s a great design, and would be fun, but the author is being gracious, and Wiki claims it only puts out 19 hp,( a “TS” with bigger carb put out 25 hp) and with a top speed of an alleged 63 mph, ( yeah, right) and a 0-60 time in just over 60 seconds, you’d be a brave soul to run this in traffic.
@Rube Goldberg: Respectfully, this is not really accurate.
These tiny engines were more than adequate for their intended purposes at the time, and they actually perform remarkably well today.
It is just that the big block hemi American mentality never understood the benefits and efficiency of small displacment engines that are remarkably efficient and perform reasonably well in almost every application except long highay runs at speeds in excess of 70 MPH. Every other country has benefitted from this approach to automotive technology, but because of our arogance and our vast natural resources, we were very late to the party of small displacement, efficient engines.
I have a Lloyd LTK600 truck very similar to this one, and the performance is really very adequate for any runs around town, and for considerably large payloads.
I would encourage and welcome you to come and learn about these small displacment European alternatives to American big block displacement, and you will see that for most everyday automotive purposes, these tiny engines perform very well and flawlessly.
I wouldn’t touch anything that the American *ss pickers had anything to do with. They have ruined the collectibles market, and most of the things going on on the show are scripted and Pure BS. I don’t believe anything they say. My Opinion. I had to sit thru one of their episodes to watch a friend who was being visited, and watching this show was more painful than root canal.
Found one of these in Tennessee about a decade ago, running and driving, for $1700. Simply had too many projects waiting to take it home, but still regret not buying it. Saw the American Pickers episode with this car and thought that in it’s condition, they grossly overpaid. But that’s the show, right? Rarely have they bought a car at real-world prices, so we should recognize that the producers generate story lines for viewers unaware of the actual market. Take that monoplace cyclecar that “supposedly” appeared in The Big Wheel with Mickey Rooney.
Anyway, Lane bought this thing for TV exposure. They knew what it was and the state it’s in. They have to know their asking price is ridiculous.
A shame, because it’s a rare, neat little car deserving a correct resto.
I live but a few miles from the Lane Motor Museum. The Lane folks have taken on more oddball projects than this — they are asking a price that makes it worth selling. If it doesn’t sell it will go to the back of the line but may actually get restored.
Dirk, the car you brought to the Lane is indeed a gorgeous automobile. I’m not sure what your story has to do with the car being sold by Lane, other than another car exposed by broadcast or print media.
Nein danke.
I’d make this into a Braun Edition (only Seinfeld people will get that, though)
I can’t get past the sad Basset Hound looking front end. Anything this odd does deserve to be restored. There can’t be many left. It would be great if some major donor to the museum would fall in love with it and fund the project for restoration. It would definitely fit into their wonderful, amazing collection.
Restoring 2 right now..a 1953 LT500 and a 1959 LT600
Go Robbert! The world needs more Lloyds! (Did anyone see the recent article on Jalopnik about Lloyds?) If it ever stops snowing, I’ll take my Alexander TS out for a spin to test the new ignition coil.